Hello everyone in CTR Land and happy solstice!

The 2026 CTR Group Start will be Sunday, August 2nd, 4:AM, Waterton Canyon.

Group Start limited to 70 riders. There is no formal sign up as this is not a formal race. Trackleaders sign up will occur one month before go time and will serve to hold a rider’s Group Start slot. ITT’s are welcome anytime outside of 24 hours of the Group Start.

There will be a “mandatory” $50 donation to the CTF trail crew fund, link will pop up in spring of 2026. Support the love and care of this trail! A trail day also might be in the works…

The CTR is a self supported ride through the mountains along the prescribed route with riders attempting to be as fast on route as possible. Riders share the route with numerous trail users of many types and backgrounds and are expected to be safe, polite and courteous. Riders are 100% responsible for themselves when out there, that includes nutrition, hydration, navigation, documentation, self care, self rescue, etc. Do It Yourself, all of it.

Know the rules! Link:https://jwookieone.com/colorado-trail-race/colorado-trail-race-rules/

If you aren’t sure you are up for “racing” for any reason, touring the route is a wonderful way to enjoy the Colorado Trail. Speaking from personal experience, hiking and touring before racing is 100% recommended!

There will be some significant changes to the CTR route for 2026!!!

Please be patient!!! The changes are still being finalized. The Track isn’t ready yet!

Here is some preliminary beta; mileage should be very close maybe even a tiny bit less, vertical should be close to a few hundred feet more. Looking at 4 significant changes, two will be faster, two will be a bit slower, all drop a good bit of busy pavement from the route. Most often dropped pavement is replaced with dirt road, maybe some trail. Resupply points won’t change and relative mileage between is about the same. Times on new sections will vary by rider, but might be close overall. Will have track available asap, but it will be a minute as winter is setting in and scouting is difficult. Do Not Expect final route till Spring of 2026!!! The changes will be significant enough to warrant new records, so game on. Will reveal details as it becomes possible.

Important Note: The CTR course hasn’t had any major changes since 2013, when Highway 285 was dropped in favor of the Tarryall detour. The reason; 285 was no longer a safe option. Riding pavement has changed even more in the past 12 years and minimizing the time spent riding along busy road sections is no longer up for debate. All of the route changes for this year mean dropping some of the actual CT from the route in favor of dropping busy pavement. In the past the route was based on riding as much of the CT as made sense, now the scope is making the route safe, wild and sustainable, while of course still focusing on following the Colorado Trail itself. It is a good compromise and should be a great improvement. Once fully vetted the track will be available for all, please be patient.

Be well and take care everyone!